His feet are strong. His courage is stronger (VIDEO)

Born without arms, Lowell man knows he has much to give

Angel Marrero uses his left foot to drive in Lowell. The native of Puerto Rico, 54, was born without arms, a birth defect caused by medication his mother took while pregnant. (SUN / JULIA MALAKIE)

LOWELL -- Angel Marrero tinkered with his old green Honda on a recent Thursday in the small parking lot of his apartment building along Stevens Street. He's gotten in trouble before for doing so, but wanted to show what he's capable of.

Salsa music played from the car radio as Marrero's personal-care assistant, Debbie Casul, folded her arms against the bitter wind and watched him work. Dressed in a short-sleeved Dickies shirt and pants, Marrero didn't seem to mind the cold. The longtime auto mechanic was in his element.

With his left foot, Marrero picked up a socket wrench to change a spark plug. He shifted his weight with his right booted foot and began turning the wrench gripped by his big and index toes.

His feet have fished, performed oil changes and other auto care maintenance. They've driven him around since he was 15.

Marrero, 54, was born without upper limbs. The cause of his birth defect, he said, stems from a medication his mother, Adela Rodriguez, took while she was pregnant with him. Marrero still doesn't know the exact name of the drug, but doctors who have seen him through the years have suggested it may have been Thalidomide. Taken by pregnant women for morning sickness, the drug banned in the 1960s resulted in thousands of children being born with severe physical disabilities such as flipper-like arms and legs.

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After years of living on the streets, Marrero now has an apartment and is struggling to piece his life back together. He said he dreams of opening his own auto mechanic shop, like one he used to own in Puerto Rico. He also wants to be a motivational speaker.

"I want to help other people who are better off than me, or worse off than me. I want to help them overcome, too," Marrero said. "To live day by day is fine, but there are many people here who can work and I see that they're useless and that bothers me.

It was the same in Puerto Rico. It bothers me when I see people who are better off than me, and they don't want to work ... and I want to work and it's been very difficult to do so."

Marrero said he was hooked on pill medications when he met his life coach, Evelyn Moreno, a few years ago. Moreno remembered a downcast Marrero, with a thick beard. Marrero said he tried jumping into the Merrimack River twice, out of desperation to end his life. He and Moreno said he's also had run-ins with Lowell police for driving, despite having a driver's license.

"He's a very capable guy. In his case, it's all about work," said Michael Thorman, a clinical coordinator with the nonprofit Vinfen who has been working to help Marrero achieve his goals.

Angel Marrero fastens his seatbelt before getting in under it. This is his personal-care assistant's car, an automatic, but he said he also drives with a manual shift. He dreams of opening his own auto mechanic shop, like one he used to own in Puerto Rico. He also wants to be a motivational speaker. "I want to help other people who are better off than me, or worse off than me. I want to help them overcome, too." (SUN / JULIA MALAKIE)

"He told me all about being a licensed and certified mechanic and transmission specialist in Puerto Rico."

Moreno, who has been providing pro bono guidance for Marrero, said he has told her he doesn't want to sit still. Together they're working on next steps and have discussed creating a video campaign so Marrero can begin connecting with others in his community.

Hours before working on his Honda, Marrero paced around his living room. He spilled his frustrations, his hopes of wanting something more for himself. Stood up, sat back down. Marrero went to his bedroom to retrieve a yellowed, laminated story about him from a Puerto Rican publication from 2002. The headline read: "Enorme voluntad y deseo de superacion" -- in English, "An enormous will and desire to overcome.

Angel Marrero shows how he uses his feet to work on his Honda as his personal-care assistant, Debbie Casul, helps out behind the wheel outside his Lowell apartment. "They're sacred to me," Marrero said in Spanish. "They're my hands. They've done everything." (SUN / JULIA MALAKIE)

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"He tells me 'I'm very frustrated. I don't want to be here, doing nothing,'" said Moreno in a sincere tone, glancing over at Marrero. "He changes tires, he knows how to remove a transmission ..."

Marrero, visibly worked up, interrupted his life coach.

"I can do anything," he said firmly. "Everything I challenge myself to do, I can do."

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